Lith Printing - Tips For Making Your First Successful Lith Print

[@AmandaSummerlinPhotography]

The timing of this video was perfect. I've been wanting to try lith printing for a while, but was struggling to sort out where to start. My box of chemicals and paper arrives today. Can't wait to give this a try. Thank you!!

[@Distphoto]

Thank you Amanda, have fun!!!

[@nickfanzo]

It’s fun and easy!

[@bottomendbliss]

As a complete beginner that gave me great info and inspiration. Very clear and concise. Thanks.

[@Distphoto]

Your welcome!

[@berlewi]

Such a brilliant video!! Really well, and so clearly explained. Thank you very much for posting!🙏👍

[@Distphoto]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the feedback. Helps a lot!

[@sbills]

Thanks!

[@Distphoto]

Thank you Steve 🙏

[@dennykakacek7087]

Love Lith printing. Great tips in your video here for people new to Lith. There is so much you can do with it and it’s terribly addictive. 😊

[@Distphoto]

The addiction is real 👍

[@GavinLyonsCreates]

Awesome stuff, hadn't tried ripening the Lith with old Agfa paper. I know that feeling when the darkroom gets trashed after a good session!

[@Distphoto]

Thanks Gavin! I’d rather be printing with it but… at least it still has some use 👍

[@GavinLyonsCreates]

@@Distphoto Well if you like to try out some old Germany papers let me know.

[@wotajared]

I discovered Lith during the early pandemic when our community club had lots of donated old "fogged an useless paper". A veteran member mentioned Lith and for the cost of just a developing kit I tried it... Turns out I still have a gold mine available there. Orwo, Agfa, old Ilford, Efke, even managed to get 3 sheets of Polywarmtone from that pile. Were it not taking 20 mins of developing per print, I'd just totally switch to Lith and I have mostly experience with Orwo and Agfa. Amazing process though I expose a bit on guesstimation. Today I printed a couple 12x16" prints after a year. At the current prices of new FB paper in larger sizes, I might keep on mining. Unfortunately IIRC for what is manufactured now, just Foma papers lith. Adox Polywarmtone is almost here, but jsut as an emulsion. Having to coat it oneself is just enough of an entry barrier atm but IMO it's about the best material for Lith.

[@Distphoto]

That is cool to here. Really was (still am) hoping the Polywarmtone project can be realized... I currently bought a lot of unopened agfa and have a bunch of Forte and others. They are so fun to work with! But yes it is a time commitment! That is why I generally heat it up. Have fun with those papers!!!

[@DannerPlace]

Very informative, and interesting.

[@Distphoto]

Thank you!

[@TheMungo54]

Lovely print. Thanks for explaining this process I’ve been wondering for a while what it’s all about.

[@Distphoto]

Your welcome! I’ve been obsessed/fascinated with the process for as long as I can remember.

[@KentuckyDarkroom]

Cool! After I get past my project of Liquid Light on glass, I'll try this!

[@Distphoto]

That sounds cool. Been meaning to get some liquid emulsion but never thought to use it on glass! How’s it going? Would love to check out your work!

[@jotaserna944]

Impresionante: qué diferencia tan notable. Gracias por hacerlo saber!

[@Distphoto]

Your welcome!

[@suzannepedersen1856]

Great video! I have done a few sessions of Lith, this gives me lots of good things to remember!! Going to watch the scaling up of print size now as I always have struggles with that lol!! Thank you!!

[@Distphoto]

Thank you Suzanne!!!

[@ebreevephoto]

on my list of new things to try - thnx

[@Distphoto]

Awesome!

[@sbills]

I really need to get in the darkroom and try this. I do wish I'd seen this video before buying Arista Lith kit - I would've went for the Moersch instead.

[@Distphoto]

The Arista Lith works great! Prob my favorite to work with. Just very sensitive to it. It does not bother some people at all… I would just use as much ventilation as you can. Also you can use it at room temperature and it will not be as fumey (if that’s a word) I just tend to heat it up really hot and then stick my face right in the tray…. At room temperature you could mix it stronger to get shorter development times. I believe that is what Bob Carnie does (not sure of the developer, but same would apply to all)

[@sbills]

@@Distphoto I did mix it stronger at 1:2 and it worked. It took about 4~5 minutes for the prints to come up fully. I'll need more practice but I was cool.

[@markholm7050]

I think it would have been helpful if you would have shown an ordinary print of the same negative so we could compare the lith effect.

[@Distphoto]

Sorry had not straight printed the image..

[@ironmonkey1512]

I just tried some of the foma warmtone in arista 50:50 900 and they dried down a real peach colored. Is there any way to reign in the color by developing differently or can it be toned out?

[@Distphoto]

It can be toned out. Brief polysulfide toner works well. Selenium will also do it but will turn pretty red if toned to long. Gold toner turns that peach to a lovely blue. Gonna hopefully do a video on toning for these sometime soon. You can also try bleach and redevelop sepia for the highlights. I have not done this on Fomatone yet but plan on it. My guess is it should turn the peach to more neutral brown

[@wandawanda5962]

Is there a way to tone the lith prints afterwards to remove the yellow tones and make them more grayscale again? a cooler lith print if you will? asking for a friend.....

[@Distphoto]

Very quick selenium bath will cool them off. If you go to long they will turn burnt red. A lot depends on the paper. Slavich unibrom Lith Avery cold. Ilford is also cooler to start. Foma is the most colorful currently made. Gold toner will do it at certain stages but will end in a pretty blue… also adds contrast so if you have low contrast prints give that a shot. Can also bleach the Lith print and develop back in a cold or neutral tone developer 👍

[@lhuhnphotography]

Do you need to use glossy paper, or can it be semi-gloss or matte? Does RC paper work? Good video, thanks

[@Distphoto]

@@lhuhnphotography you can use any finish and RC papers. Some will Lith some will not. If they have developers incorporated in the emulsion they will not Lith…

[@nickfanzo]

I like the randomness of lith printing. I want to see what the angel of uncertainty gives me.

[@Distphoto]

That is why I love it so much. You have to let go of some control and let the process do its thing!

[@allen_snapped]

Best channel. Coolest channel. I'm a long way off from darkroom printing, but as always, I appreciate what you do.

[@Distphoto]

Thanks a bunch!

[@danem2215]

I have a ton of old Ilford MG3. Can I try to lith that or no? It's junked so I'm trying to find a use for it that's not traditional printing

[@Distphoto]

You can try… I do not think it will straight Lith, but you can do what is called second pass Lith. Print the paper overexposed and then bleach and redevelop in Lith developer. Most papers will Lith this way 👍 it is called second pass lith

[@nickfanzo]

My most important recommendation would be to get a microwave in your darkroom area. Once the lith developer cools down, it slows down a lot. For example, it took me 70 minutes this morning to get the blacks where I wanted them to be on one of my prints, due to cooling developer.

[@Distphoto]

Totally agree! A microwave is a must in my opinion - Very useful for warming chemicals, drying prints etc... Find one with minimal lights and block off the rest! Thank you for bringing this up. Lith printing development times can go from a couple minutes up to an hour or more! and strength and temperature of your developer have a huge role in this.

[@nickfanzo]

@@Distphoto also cold lith developer can give you those weird snowballs

[@guillermoperezsantos]

Green bromide?? thats Gatorade!!! 😁

[@Distphoto]

😂

[@josephasghar]

I don’t get it. What does lith printing have over standard prints that makes it worth the extra headache?…

[@Distphoto]

There is a range of traits. Delicate colorful highlights split with cold grainy shadow is the main “look” you can get with lith that is very different from traditional prints. This particular image is a bit tamer and soft since it is a more delicate portrait. Lith prints will also react much more to toners. With gold toner I can get this print to a lovely mauve or blue hue. Selenium will react much stronger. There is a wide range of looks you can get that makes it very intriguing. I personally like the more contrasty gritty prints and was first turned on to it (like many others) by the work of Anton Corbijn who I believe had at least some of his prints printed Mike Spry. Many are Lith printed. The ones of Tom Waits are my favorite and just fit his persona so well. Many other iconic band images of the time were Lith. If you do a search you will find a wide range of imagery. Many of the different looks are paper/developer dependent. Another thing is it is almost impossible( in my experience) to reproduce these prints digitally and do them justice. The print I did here was a bit subtle but has a clear split tone between cold blacks and peachy highlights. This can be increased much more but would not be suitable for THIS portrait. In short there is a ton you can do with Lith printing you can not do straight printing. You can even combine the two for additional control.

[@josephasghar]

@@Distphoto very educative. Thanks indeed!

[@Distphoto]

@@josephasghar 👍👍👍

[@davidkachel]

"The brommyde acts as a restrainer." Do you perhaps mean "potassium bromide"? Potassium bromide IS a restrainer, it does not just "act as a restrainer". There is a chemical called "bromine", but none called "bromide". The ending "...ide" is an indicator that the element in question is attached to another chemical. If bromine is combined with another chemical it is called xyz bromide. You cannot just drop the word "potassium". Chemicals do not have abbreviated names or nicknames.

[@Distphoto]

Sorry man… yes Potassium Bromide is what I was referring to that IS a restrainer

[@guillermoperezsantos]

Below 25ºC lith does not work very well, you get a more "normal" look, but after 15 min of developing hehehe, totally not worth the low temp

[@Distphoto]

I’ve had good results at lower temps… sometimes just takes a long time. Can be very paper / developer dependent as well.

[@melody3741]

Okay great so... What the heck is lith and why would I do this over normal printing, it's obviously not lithography so I don't understand why it's using similar terminology is that just a coincidence? Is it short for something else? You really should be explaining this stuff at least as some degree so that anyone can at least understand what's happening here

[@Distphoto]

So it is called lith printing because you do use a Lithographic developer for it. You use it highly diluted and sometimes exhausted on older silver(some newer) papers that react to the developers. There is a range of traits. Delicate colorful highlights split with cold grainy shadow is the main “look” you can get with lith that is very different from traditional prints. This particular image is a bit tamer and soft since it is a more delicate portrait. Lith prints will also react much more to toners. With gold toner I can get this print to a lovely mauve or blue hue. Selenium will react much stronger. There is a wide range of looks you can get that makes it very intriguing. I personally like the more contrasty gritty prints and was first turned on to it (like many others) by the work of Anton Corbijn who I believe had at least some of his prints printed Mike Spry. Many are Lith printed. The ones of Tom Waits are my favorite and just fit his persona so well. Many other iconic band images of the time were Lith. If you do a search you will find a wide range of imagery. Many of the different looks are paper/developer dependent. Another thing is it is almost impossible( in my experience) to reproduce these prints digitally and do them justice. The print I did here was a bit subtle but has a clear split tone between cold blacks and peachy highlights. This can be increased much more but would not be suitable for THIS portrait. In short there is a ton you can do with Lith printing you can not do straight printing. You can even combine the two for additional control.

[@RobertBogdanRoth]

Thanks!

[@Distphoto]

Thank you!

[@barryburns911]

Thanks!

[@Distphoto]

Thank you!